May 22, 2024 -- The case of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange shows the world what U.S.-style “freedom of the press" really is, said Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at a press briefing on Tuesday.

 

Wang said the case shows the U.S. believes exposure of other countries’ secrets should be rewarded, but exposure of its own should be punished. The remarks came after Assange won a victory in his ongoing battle against extradition from the UK to the U.S., after the High Court in London granted him permission to appeal.

 

Wang said freedom of the press, like so-called democratic human rights, is just a tool that the U.S. uses to suppress dissidents and maintain its own hegemony.

 

The spokesperson stated that Assange has won a round in his struggle against U.S. hegemony, but whether he can ultimately emerge victorious in this contest remains to be seen.

 

Assange, 52, is wanted by the U.S. for allegedly disclosing national defense information following WikiLeaks's publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked military documents relating to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars a decade ago.

 

These included Apache helicopter video footage of the U.S. military gunning down journalists and children in the streets of Baghdad in 2007, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

 

Assange’s backers celebrated upon hearing the court's decision. Although he was absent from court on Monday due to health issues, his wife Stella was among those present.

 

“The judges reached the right decision... As a family we are relieved, but how long can this go on? The U.S. should read the situation and drop this case now. Now is the moment to do it. Just abandon the shameful attack on journalists, on the press and on the public," Stella Assange was quoted as saying by Xinhua News Agency while she talked to supporters outside the High Court.

 

The 52-year-old was not in court Monday on health grounds, and an NPR report said that if judges determine that he would not receive the same legal safeguards in a U.S. court as he would under the British legal system, it might eventually result in his release.

 

Assange’s case reveals the fact that policies formulated by elites in the U.S. are not based on the well-being of the country and the people. Instead, they serve narrow, short-sighted, and special interest groups and classes, Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

 

This is also why Assange, who exposes and reveals the truth, faces the danger of being extradited to the U.S., Li said.

 

Permission for extradition would be granted if the U.S. government could demonstrate that Assange, an Australian citizen, would not face bias during the trial based on his nationality and would receive the same legal protections as a U.S. citizen. Additionally, the U.S. authorities have to guarantee that Assange would not face the death penalty if found guilty, media reports said.

 

It can be expected that the U.S. will continue to hunt Assange in order to set an example and prevent other people from revealing the truth about the dirty policies of the U.S. government, Chinese experts predicted.